Rep. Mark Waller to bring back measure addressing DUI penalties

Among the wave of bills set to be unveiled in the coming weeks is a measure that addresses penalties for drunk drivers in Colorado.

Bill to address DUI’s to introduced by Rep. Mark Waller. (The Post file)

All DUI offenses in the state are misdemeanor infractions no matter how many convictions a person receives. Under legislation set to be introduced by Rep. Mark Waller, R- Colorado Springs, if a person receives a third DUI conviction within a seven year span they would face a class 4 felony.

Waller presented similar legislation last year that passed through the House, but died in a Senate committee when then-Democratic Senate President John Morse, the bill’s cosponsor, did not have the votes to pass it.

“Establishing a felony DUI charge will help get habitual DUI offenders out of the driver’s seat, and provide a stronger deterrent for people driving while intoxicated,” Waller said in a statement.

Waller said he has yet to receive bipartisan support from his Democratic colleagues but is optimistic they will eventually sign on.

“The concept certainly has bipartisan backing,” Waller said.

Key differences between the DUI felony measures presented in 2013 and this year’s is that no mandatory incarceration sentences are included. Moreover, it’s been changed from a class 5 felony to a class 4 felony. Waller said the main intention of his bill is to not lock more people up, but to encourage treatment options. Currently the only vehicle and traffic offenses that carry class 4 felonies are for motor vehicle theft.

Mandatory minimums is always a bad idea, and that is not a bleeding-heart liberal position. Ask the Independence Institute if mandatory minimums is ever a good idea. Having removed mandatory minimums gives this a much better chance of passage.

Migrant3

Our legislators don’t know how to sensibly plan. They react to issues with ill thought out bills and fail to consider consequences.

Migrant3

Here we go again with another burdensome set of marijuana type laws that will once again over crowd our jails. Has Mr. Waller counted the number of available jail beds before grandstanding with his new legislation? Or is he going to concurrently propose the building of more prisons? We will definitely need more jails if Mr.Waller’s proposed legislation passes. .

TimothyTipton

Where’s The NEEDED effort to untangle DUI- D Marijuana 5ngs MADNESS and Help keep legal cannabis patients from Being Thrown Under The Bus?

RobertChase

To a carpenter, everything looks like a nail. To Mark Waller, ex-persecutor kicked upstairs, everything looks like an under-punished crime. The United States of America, which still calls itself “the land of the free” has made of itself the least free country on Earth in terms of the proportion of the population not living under restraint, and fascist dogs like Waller are responsible. Waller should be deprived of his citizenship and expelled as an enemy of the American Constitution and American Liberty, but fascists and their dupes may shortly elect this parasite the chief law enforcement officer of our State — not if I have anything to say about it!

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.